Visionaries and entrepreneurs are often fiercely independent, very self-reliant and uncompromising in their thinking and their lives. A major characteristic of the VisionForce work is how it powerfully restores and builds more of our natural autonomy in thought and action—a great value in a world that still conditions us to follow and conform in so many ways. Thought leaders such as Ayn Rand, individualist extraordinaire, were instrumental in restoring my own sense of power in my 20s, and my faith in our potential to live as visionary creators.

While the VisionForce work is so powerful for relationships, having been started largely from working to bring my own family back together, in many ways I have been a life-long loner and individualist. That mentality has in many ways suited me well in the research and development of this work, I suppose, but it has been a huge liability in my thinking since starting the VisionForce business.

Many of our Boot Camp graduates have been encouraging us to focus locally in Austin, rather than focus globally through the internet, as we have primarily been doing. Only recently and gradually have I been heeding that advice. Earlier this year, I was stunned to learn of two visionary organizations that are building amazing communities for entrepreneurs right here in Austin (FLOW and Bootstrap).

It was at a FLOW meeting that I met a visionary Austin woman named Brandi Clark. Brandi, head of the Austin Eco-Network. Brandi attended our last Boot Camp, and could not believe that most people in Austin did not know about us, or that we were not an integral part of the other communities and organizations here. She has since joined our staff, committed help us take our business to the next level locally over the next 4 months.

Through Brandi, I’ve finally begun to get to know this great town. I’ve lived in Austin 15 years now, and always considered it a special place, but only recently have I considered Austin “my community.”

Over the last few weeks, I had the fortune of learning about three other local Austin organizations that are doing great things for Austin entrepreneurs: Big Austin, the Austin Independent Business Alliance and American YouthWorks.

Austin seems to be emerging as a perfect breeding ground for entrepreneurs and visionaries. There’s nowhere we’d rather be.

MP3 File

I sat down with local visionary entrepreneur and founder of the Bootstrap Network, Bijoy Goswami, to discuss his revolutionary ideas about starting a venture. The insights revealed in this audio are valuable for the entrepreneur, social entrepreneur, non-profit leader and more.

He boils down the entrepreneurial process to get at the essence of what great entrepreneurs have been doing–whether they realize it or not.

You'll want to give yourself time to listen to the full thing. It's about an hour.

Bijoy has an on-line bootcamp for bootstrappers that you can check out here. I think it's invaluable and it's the next best thing to living here in Austin and getting him to consult with you in person. I recommend it to anyone starting or building a business or organization.

What do Bill Gates, Michael Dell and Richard Branson have in common (other than billions of Ben Franklins)?

The answer is here, and we’ve uploaded a 60-minute podcast (audio recording) of a conversation between Vision Force founder, Michael Skye and a special guest, who has fascinating new insights into entrepreneurship. If you’re an entrepreneur or wish to be, this audio is invaluable–and it’s free. Enjoy!